Magic and Illusion

Since I was a child, I have been interested in the magical arts. I was always fascinated by magicians such as David Copperfield, Harry Blackstone and other magicians who appeared on television. I was amazed at how they could make the impossible happen. I wanted those abilities too. To levitate common objects, such as a lightbulb or a flower, or even myself, to be able to soar across the sky. I had a few magic sets growing up, and I can remember vaguely some of my first trips to a magic shop. I remember being amazed at the wizards who worked there, and over time picked up a handful of tricks. I would perform for my parents and even performed once for my synagogue. I wasn’t that good, but that didn’t matter to me. I was having fun, and the audience had fun too.

There had not been a lot of magic on television until Criss Angel stepped up and took the stage. Despite whether you thing Criss Angel is a good magician or not, he really helped bring magic back into the mainstream. Other shows started popping up by magicians like Derren Brown, Keith Barry. Televised magic was back. Even the reality TV chain got it’s own show, Celebracadabra (which I happened to enjoy quite a bit). I had a lot of free time and started searching for magic resources on the Internet and came upon a community known as the Secrets of Magic Forum. This was a forum run by magicians and students of magic from all over the world. People would collaborate on the ideology, psychology and methodology behind various tricks and effects. Some may shun the site, claiming it to be an exposure site, but they made it a point to discourage people who did not actively participate and have a true interest in the art.

I recognized that I could pick up some of the basics and even learn some tips from some talented people, but I wanted to be better than a “you-tube magician”. I started picking up books on magic and started collecting tricks and apparatus that I could use to learn and practice with. I’ve re-collected all the original tricks I had while growing up, and even managed to get some pretty cool newer ones. I also started attending lectures and classes given by professional magicians, Masters of their art. While I have learned a few tricks and know the modus operandi of several tricks and illusions, the most valued information I got from them was the little subtleties, and bits of knowledge they gave me. One could learn to do a card trick in a few minutes, but it takes a lot more to perform that card trick and make it something really magical.